A Review of "Media Primitivism"

Abstract

This is a review of Delinda Collier’s 2020 book, Media Primitivism: Technological Art in Africa, that examines its importance to the fields of art history and media studies. Collier raises fundamental concerns about racist allegories that are often left unquestioned in foundational media theory texts. In so doing, she engages the role of mediation in African art history without relying on primitivizing rhetoric.